Her Savior (Book Two Of The Brave Series)

11-The Storm

11-The Storm

When Aria took off from Raven's house, everyone was worried and the air had become awkward, so Jax just driven everyone home in silence. Xepher had just gotten back to his house and noticed a note on the kitchen counter from his dad.

Xepher, looks like Blu took off on Grace, out looking for her now, please don't be too upset with her.

Xepher crinkled up the paper, irritated. He had saved up quite a bit to purchase a purebred white husky and Grace had let her slip through her fingers? The dog was two thousand bucks for crying out loud! How does she just 'take off'?

"Damnit." Xepher uttered to himself, taking out his phone. He shot Grace a text.

Xepher: Hey, tell Dad to drive safe. Be careful in the storm.

He tossed his phone to the side then and jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"What the-one sec, I'm coming!" He called out as he made his way back to the front door. The knocks came again, louder this time. He was already irritated so this person's impatience was pissing him off. He yanked the front door open.

"I said I'm co-Aria?" Xepher was shocked. He had just seen her less than an hour ago and now she was at his doorstep, soaking wet, shivering, and full of mud. Then he looked down and noticed the ball of white fur in her hands.

"Blu!" He said, shocked even more so now. Aria held the dog out to him and he took her, holding her shivering body to him. He turned back to Aria, who was halfway down the porch staircase by now.

"Wait! Aria." He called to her and she paused. That's when he noticed it. The tear in his leather jacket, even through his hoodie, then the blood. He quickly set the dog down and walked outside, closing the door behind him. The cold air whipped through his long sleeve and into his skin, making his teeth chatter, but he tried his best to ignore it.

"Aria, what happened?" He asked. She didn't turn and she tucked her head down, forcing him to go around her to face her. He put a finger under her chin and brought her face up to meet his. His chest tightened painfully. The bruises were visible once more, marring her otherwise perfect skin, her hair was sticking to her face as twigs and leaves poked out of her hair. She must've run through the forest behind their neighborhood. Her eyes were full of unshed tears and Xepher didn't know what to do. Then her eyes met his as she lifted the bottom of his leather jacket. Then her mouth moved.

'I'm sorry.' She mouthed, not even a whisper of a sound coming out. Xepher froze, that was the most she'd ever tried to talk before, and she was apologizing for, getting hurt? If it were anyone else that destroyed this jacket he would've been beyond furious, but this was Aria, she was so much more important than a jacket his grandpa gave him.

"Don't worry about it, Aria. What happened?" He asked, though he knew the answer. Her stepfather. A tear fell then, and he reached out to wrap his arms around her, his heart breaking, when the sound of thunder boomed around them. Before he could blink, Aria was on the ground, curled into a ball. Xepher cursed as lightning struck, thunder soon following, and she shook like a leaf.

Without hesitation, Xepher leaned down and scooped her up in his arms. He then went through the front door, closing it with his foot quickly, doing his best to ignore Blu's barking. He set Aria on the living room couch, thanking God it was leather and easy to clean, and grabbed his wireless headphones. He approached Aria gently, wrapping one arm around her while the other put a headphone in each of her ears, then set one of his playlists to shuffle. When she couldn't hear the storm anymore her body relaxed a fraction, then she looked up at him. His chest clenched again as he saw her red eyes full of fear. He held up a finger and she nodded.
Xepher ran upstairs, grabbing the First Aid Kit and running back down. The thunder came in waves, and Xepher counted, trying to make sure he knew the right time to pull a headphone out. When one boom ended, he pulled out a headphone and talked quickly.